This is a sight I would like to see a lot more often. An illegal dirt bike that was operating off road in Colt's Park was seized today by HPD. The operator had the misfortune of trying to race through the park and stalling his bike in front of a South CSO. HPD closed in, the bike was seized and towed, and hopefully , after legislation that was passed this last session, it will be headed for the crusher.
I attend a lot of community meetings throughout the City. I have never once heard someone say they were considering moving because they were fed up over shootings or even homicides ( both of which are on the decline this year) I have heard plenty of people say they are fed up with the noise and the danger presented on our streets by illegal dirt bikes and ATV''s.
They are a menace pure and simple and a definitely an adverse quality of life issues. Unfortunately, this one dirt bike is only one of thousands of them on our streets. More efforts like this one though will gfo a lonbg ways toward sending a message. A well publicized "community crushing" will also help.
These ATV's are a huge thorn in the side of HPD, but a few weekends of directed patrols to combat this nuisance will definitely help. Unmarked vehicles to track the offenders , and maybe putting a few hours on a Homeland Security chopper will send a real strong message.
In the mean time,HPD has to make a concerted effort to respond to the community complaints when they are reported. If the community is going to be encouraged to report the where abouts of these ATV's, they deserve a response. Their reports can not just be logged in and cleared by a dispatcher because HPD is busy. They need to be a priority before someone, either an illegal operator or an innocent driver or pedestrian is killed
In the meantime, good job to all HPD Officers getting this ATV on the hook and out of the Park.
